How and Where to Buy Your Own Private Island

Federico Tibytt

Buying a private island is easier than ever.

Showbiz celebrities, famous athletes, business leaders and tycoons spend their holidays on their private islands. In the past, access to these properties seemed almost impossible, but in the last decades, it has become much easier. In fact, there are specialized real estate brokers that will facilitate the search and make this exclusive acquisition come trough.

An island is the highest tier of a privileged life. Are you ready to buy yours?

“In most cases, they are land portions that have water as a natural boundary. These islands provide a sense of freedom impossible to achieve in any property confined to the continent,” says Farhad Vladi, a German real estate broker with more than 30 years experience in the business, having sold more than 2,600 private islands. “However, it is precisely the continent that gives the island its special character. The luxury of a private island is the possibility of escaping and returning whenever you want. That’s why even the smallest island with a simple wooden hut is of immense value to its owner.”

Today’s market is sophisticated enough to offer multiple options that accommodate the most varied tastes and needs. Most of the time, they are sumptuous and idyllic properties with white sand beaches and azure waters, but, in fact, there are islands for sale all over the world. The most popular destinations for island buying are Central America, North America, the South Pacific and Europe.

One of these islands could be yours for just some millions of dollars.

According to the Canadian site privateislandsonline.com, the process to purchase or rent a private island must be carefully studied in each case, taking into account the tastes, needs, and interests of the prospective buyers. The most important searching parameters should be the island´s distance and accessibility; its climate throughout the whole year, the legal and cultural guarantees offered by the host country, the building limitations determined by environmental regulations and the use reserved for the property.

For Chris Krolow, executive director of the Canadian firm, there are different types of buyers: those who seek to satisfy their personal tastes, building the house of their dreams, and those who opt for private islands as a tourism investment in search of a new lifestyle.

There are international real estate firms that offer islands from their portfolio of properties for sale. But new companies have emerged specializing in the sale or rental of these properties. This is the case of the website as mentioned earlier, or the German company Vladi Private Islands, which currently has a portfolio of more than 300 islands for sale worldwide.

Owning your private island brings a mystique difficult to compare with other real estate investments, as it offers a unique and unrepeatable sense of exclusivity and ownership. It is just a matter of finding the island of our dreams. ■